Monday, May 24, 2010

ABSTRACT: Interfaithing is NOT about uniting religions, it is about hearing each other, and learning to remove myths and falsehoods about other faiths and live without fear of the other. Much of the fear is imaginary - like a child being afraid of the boogey man that ain't there. Let the goodness in you find the goodness in others.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

There is a Muslim cultural center planned near the site of ground zero, it is a great initiative to build bridges and work on creating a better world. The Neocons are determined to create chaos out of it.

From the controversial news category comes the story about a giant 13 story Islamic Mosque within steps of Ground Zero in New York City. Sean was joined by Pamela Geller and Mike Ghouse to discuss this issue.

Geller, Executive Director of theFreedom Defense Initiative and Mike Ghouse, the Director of the World Muslim Congress, engaged in a huge debate. “What can be more insulting than a monster mosque in the shadow of the World Trade Center that were brought down by an Islamic jihad attack,” argued Geller, “it’s time for Americans to stand up against the evil of Islamic supremacist.” Ghouse offered, “Everyone is crying out loud for Muslims to create positive change but this building will do just that – create a voice for the moderate Muslim.”

“This mosque is scheduled to open September 11th, 2011 and will apparently have a swimming pool in the building damaged by the fu selage of one of the planes that destroyed the World Trade Center,” noted Hannity. It’s a difficult line between freedom and sensitivity to that sacred area. For more information, visit the Daily News.

As Americans we uphold, protect, defend and celebrate the values enshrined in our constitution. Our faith reinforces the creed of "One Nation under God, with liberty and justice for all."

Unity Day USA is about coming together as Americans and expressing our innate desire to rededicate our pledge; one nation under god with liberty and justice for all.

Unity Day USA is about coming together as Americans to appreciate, respect and honor the God given uniqueness to each one of the 297,018,658 of us.

Unity Day USA is born to express that each one of the 297,018,658 of us, are part of the mosaic that America is, each one of us needs to remain connected with the other to make us one nation under God.

Unity Day USA is born out of the great tragedy and enormous suffering that Tuesday, September 11, 2001 brought to all of us, and it is from this day forward, that we, the Muslims of America pledge to continue to foster healing and unity.

We are blessed in this endeavor with the support from people of all faiths. On this Unity Day USA, the People of every faith, race, ethnicity, culture, and every background has accepted our invitation to join us in sharing the power of prayer for peace, healing, unity and security of our country.

Our faith is deed based, and as with all silent majorities, we follow our faith and strive to be the best we can. For the overwhelming silent majority of Muslims, Islam is about doing good things for mankind. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) once explained, if you plant and nurture a tree, it will give fruit to all; that is charity. He told his associates to consider this as a good deed; doing things that will benefit the mankind. Indeed, this is the same message, every messenger of God in every faith has reiterated.

World Muslim Congress is born to represent the silent majority of Muslims, Every one is invited to become a member and participate in doing good things for the community at large. Insha Allah, as an organization, every good we do, we will do it for America and for every American. The information is available in the tab "about us" on this website and will soon be on the website www.AmericanMuslimForum.com

As Americans we uphold, protect, defend and celebrate the values enshrined in our constitution. Our faith reinforces the creed of "One Nation under God, with liberty and justice for all."

The following is information about the Cordoba House project, for your national television broadcast, as was agreed to be given to you by Imam Feisal over the phone.

The need for Córdoba House is apparent in the continuing ignorance surrounding Islam and its people, within both the Muslim and non-Muslim communities. The vision for Córdoba House is to establish a Muslim center that will, through dialogue, culture and arts and educational programs, represent the diversity of opinions, beliefs and schools of thought within the Muslim community while also serving as a Muslim paradigm for intra-faith and interfaith understanding.

This Center will be distinguished by its unique approach to interfaith and intercommunity education: the use of arts and other Muslim cultural production as the very vehicle for bridge building.

The Córdoba House will offer a multitude of mediums to experience the Muslim culture in relation to Abrahamic faiths including: theological discussion, philosophical inquiry, art exhibitions, and culture & arts festivals.

Vision for Córdoba House:

Growth in the American Muslim community and the public awareness and perception of Muslims presents several pressing needs. The center will furnish the community’s needs by being:• Pluralistic: Welcome and promote all perspectives to participate in high level intra-faith/inter-faith discussion regarding identity, spirituality, theology, human values and religious principles.

• Expressive: Foster an American face of Islam that celebrates its multiple roots and rich heritage by showcasing and sharing culture, art and intellectual production within the Islamic tradition.

The first flagship Cordoba House will be built in the heart of New York City. An organizational model will be created for satellite centers around the globe. These models will be replicable and can conform to local intra and interfaith needs. Although it is not possible for any center to single handedly meet the needs of all interested individuals, if it is effective and well-received, others may create similar institutions.

As Muslims we need to continue to remain alert, if we have an inkling of some one who 'wishes' to hurt another being, it is our religious duty to pounce on him/her and stop it at once unequivocally. The Quraan says saving one life is like saving the whole humanity. The only sin God does not forgive is shirk, that is assigning some one to do God's job; one of them is to give life and take life. This is where we need to do our Jihad, to prevent a Bin Laden or another idiot to take over God's job. This is Shirk, unforgivable by God.

We need to send a clear signal to the terrorists, what the Muslims in Mumbai had done - deny burial in a Muslim cemetery if there is one. Let them know clearly that they are not welcome among Muslims, who the hell they think they are, God? No Muslim should tolerate any one to do God's job, it is a shirk to give another person the status of God.

As Americans we need to treat these guys as common criminals, and should resist the temptation of labeling them a Muslim or a Pakistani, what is the point, blame the man and not his family, school, city, religion or country? We need to do a study if these idiots do it for glory, if they do, we should not give them any, and there should not be any incentive to them.

As a civil society, we need to encourage open conversations across America, let people express their frustrations and share what is on their mind.

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer and an activist of Pluralism, Justice, Islam, India and Civil Societies. He is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer offering pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Sacramento's Pakistani American community Friday declared war on terrorism – whether it's in Pakistan or homegrown.

At the downtown Muslim mosque, several dozen local leaders thanked God for the quick arrest of Pakistan-born U.S. citizen Faisal Shahzad in connection with the attempted Times Square car bombing before anyone was hurt.

Bashir Choudry, president of the Pakistani American Association of Sacramento, and other leaders expressed sadness that another Pakistani American has been linked to terrorism. Choudry said the community will do whatever it takes to root out terrorism.

That includes working with law enforcement, creating a Pakistani studies program at UC Davis to teach people about Pakistan's problems and potential, and lobbying U.S. lawmakers to promote stability, transparency and democracy in Pakistan.

Businessman Farrukh Saaed asked all community members "to help law enforcement find and prosecute these criminals – anyone who hears about suspicious behavior needs to come forward to try to stop it initially at the grass-roots level before it becomes something big.""We are all together in defeating forces trying to hurt or damage the American way of life – peace, justice and freedom," Choudry said.

Community leaders said they'd support the Department of Homeland Security's plan to monitor travel between the United States and Pakistan. "We will cooperate as long as there's a good reason and it's not racial profiling," Choudry said.

The Rev. David Thompson, president of Sacramento's Interfaith Service Bureau, noted that the man "who found the smoking SUV and saved the day was a Muslim." True Islam is peaceful, "not this radicalized violence in the name of Islam," Thompson said.

"We have an obligation to educate our own people and American society about the true nature, problems and potential of Pakistan," said Ahmad, who supports a Pakistani Studies program at UC Davis and plans to invite the chief justice of Pakistan's Supreme Court to California.

Not only have Pakistanis laid down their lives to battle terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan Ahmad said, "our relatives in Pakistan face a daily onslaught from terrorist bombings."To help Pakistanis solve their own problems, "Pakistani Americans have an obligation to communicate with our government in the U.S. to not give money, but support democratic forces, transparency, good government and good education," Ahmad said.

Times Square suspect Shahzad, the son of a decorated aviator in the Pakistani air force, is an unemployed financial analyst from the suburb of Shelton, Conn. He allegedly hatched the car bomb plot after numerous trips to Pakistan where he was trained by radical elements in the Pakistani Taliban.

Haseeb A. Rana, an IT manager at Intel in Folsom, expressed the frustration shared by many Muslims when Americans are linked to terrorism in Pakistan.

Lodi's Hamid Hayat was convicted of lying about attending a terrorist training camp in Pakistan in 2007.

In 2003, the "Lackawanna Six," Yemeni Americans from New York who attended an al-Qaida jihadist camp in Pakistan, pleaded guilty to terrorism charges.

"There are a lot of people like me who want to help but we don't know what to do – a good Muslim will never hurt anybody," Rana said. "We have to ask more questions so we can diagnose this cancer and find a cure."

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Dear God, guide us do the right thing every moment of our lives.Dear God, guide us open our hearts and minds to fellow beings;Dear God, guide us the humility to respect your creation.Dear God, guide us shed the arrogance in us that we are superior,Dear God, guide us learn to respect and accept every which way one worships you.

Dear God, guide us to become conflict mitigators

Dear God, guide us to become good will nurturers

Dear God, guide to us create the kingdom of heaven for every one of the 7 billion of us

Amen

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer and an activist of Pluralism, Justice, Islam, India and Civil Societies. He is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer offering pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

An examination of different types of Prayers and Prayer happenings in Dallas Fort Worth followed by a Dinner event on Friday. Please note that a healthy change has occurred in the last few years due to the collective efforts of the community, there was a time when other denominations and faiths were excluded, but that is history now and Thank God for the inclusionary, pluralistic attitudes of Priests, Rabbis, Imams, Pastors, Pundits, Shamans and religious leaders across the world.

Good Afternoon, I am standing here today because a lady by the name Rosa Parks stood up for her rights and her right to be treated with dignity.

I am standing here today as an immigrant because some one gave up his life to bring civil rights to America and it was this singular act that caused all of us immigrants to be here in America to enrich our nation.

If you cannot stand up for the rights of others, why should any one stand up for you? It was an honor to be among 10 civil rights leaders of Dallas to lead the March.

We have a moral responsibility to stand up for Justice and civil rights of others.

We are a nation of justice,We are born to be just,We are conditioned to be just,We have to guard ourselves to be just, andWe cannot not stray away from justice.

We have to bring a balance in our own life by giving our time to defend the rights of others, who need to be defended, and who cannot speak for themselves.

Dr. King lifted us from the burden of guilt that would have eaten and rotted the psyche of our nation. And as Americans, we need to protect future generation from such guilt complexes.

As Americans we have taken bold steps to protect the human rights of people around the world and have sacrificed millions of our men and women, and poured billions of dollars to protect the rights of othersIt is time we do protect the rights of our own fellow residents.

Make no mistake about it, we must have strong border control and border enforcement, but must act and work on the Comprehensive Immigration reform.

Let’s pray

- Dear God, we are gathered here to seek your guidance; help us do the right thing. Say AMEN

- Help us open our hearts and minds to fellow beings; Say AMEN

- Give us the humility to respect your creation Say AMEN,

- Help us embrace each one of the 7 billion of us without any distinction; Say AMEN

- We need stand up for the rights of others, to build an America, to build one nation with liberty and justice for all. Say AMEN

Mike Ghouse is a frequent guest at the media offering pluralistic solutions to issues of the day. He is a thinker, writer, speaker, optimist and an activist of Pluralism, Interfaith, Co-existence, Peace, Islam, India and Civil Societies. His work is reflected at 3 websites & 22 Blogs listed at http://www.mikeghouse.net/

My Dream

I have a dream, a dream to strengthen the pluralistic values of America, and the desire to encourage the community of nations to review our values of Liberty, Justice and co-existence as catalysts for prosperity.

No community or a nation can have undue advantages over others. Such benefits are temporary and deleterious to lasting peace.

We have to maintain a healthy balance within our communities and with all nations, what is good for America, has got to be good for the world and vice versa.

SPEAKER, THINKER, WRITER

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker, writer, optimist, educator and an activist of Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam, India and Civil Societies. He manages the Foundation for Pluralism and World Muslim Congress and offers Pluralistic solutions to the media and the public on issues of the day.

He is available to speak at your school, university, work place, seminars or place of worship and interfaith gatherings.

He was a speaker and a moderator at the 2009 Parliament of Worlds Religions in Melbourne, Australia, and speaker at Universal Peace Federation's peace initiative in Jerusalem in August 2010

Mike is a conflict mitigater and a goodwill nurturer, all his work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at

http://www.mikeghouse.net/

INTERFAITH SPEAKER

It is my duty

It is my patriotic duty to speak up. Had each one of us spoken, we would not have sacrficed 3000 of our sons and daughters, and massacred a million Iraqi's. Unfortunately, we have to carry this burden on our conscience for the genocide we shamelessly watched and stood by. What are we going to tell our kids? That we were chickens and did not have the guts to speak up?

With the exception of Congressman Murtha and Barack Obama, the senate and the house were scared to death to speak up. Thanks God, November 7, 2006 gave us all new freedom. We need to elect people who are not afraid to speak up, they will be true patriots to our nation and to our values of freedom and democracy.

In my blog, I will be writing things reflective of our values of Justice, freedom and liberty.

Committment

Personally, I am committed to promoting goodwill amongst people, I believe knowledge leads to understanding, and understanding to acceptance and appreciation of a different point of view.

If we can learn to accept and respect the God given uniqueness of each one of the 7 billion of us, then conflicts fade and solutions emerge.

Ray Bradbury "Until one is committed, there is hesitancy... Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.… Whatever you can do or dream that you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."

and this "If we listened to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship. We'd never go into business, because we'd be cynical. Well, that's nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down."

Mike Ghouse " Whatever you do in life, do it wholeheartedly, there is joy in it for every one around including ourselves"

Taking a principled stand

Please be aware that I will do my best to take a principled stand on Justice. Which simply means no matter who, what or where there is injustice, I will speak out.

Most of our policies are based on short sightedness, What is our gain? Who can we please and how can we remain in our power positions? Be it our President, Congressman, Senator or a public officer, I will speak out.

When it comes to other nations, if they are non-inclusive and mistreat any segment of their population, I will speak out.

I will defend the goodness of every religion, religion is the reason we have relative peace in the world, without which it will be chaotic. For the crimes of mankind, let's find the culprit and laser bark at him, and not his family, his race, his ethnicity or his religion.

I am a moderate Republican, and my first loyalty is to democracy before the blinding loyalty to my party. Obama is the right man in our history for our nation at this time and I have supported him all the way, the more I know about him, the more I feel he is the right man for the job.My thought process is similar to Obama's. In fact he has used the same words in his speeches that I wrote on my blog a week ahead of him.ISRAEL & PALESTINE

Thank God, I have no barriers between me and another human being.

Time permitting I want to see all points of view with an open mind, ultimately it is me or you, who is going to feel right or wrong about things and the pangs I will endure for realizing that I believed in the wrong thing.

No Imam, Rabbi, Pundit or Pastor is responsible for my actions and finding the truth is my own responsibility. Watching a Hamas movie does not make me a Hamas supporter or a Zionist movie would make me a Zionist supporter. We need to raise about such petty pegs.

My loyalty is to justice; and not to Israel or Palestine, which means support is based on issues and items and not wholesale blind support or un-support.

We do not have peace in Middleeast because of our loyalties to entities and not Justice. Every one wants peace, but they are not going about the right way.

Speaker and Writer

Mike Ghouse is a Speaker, Thinker, Writer and a Moderator.

He is a frequent guest on talk radio and local television network discussing Pluralism, interfaith, Islam, India, Multiculturism, Terrorism, Peace, Politics and Civic issues. He co-chairs the center for interfaith inquiry of the Memnosyne Foundation and presides the Foundation for Pluralism. He is the president of World Muslim Congress a think tank with a simple theme: Good for Muslims and good for the world and vice-Versa.

His comments, news analysis and columns can be found on the Web sites and Blogs listed at his personal web site www.MikeGhouse.net . He has authored over 600 articles on Pluralism, interfaith, Islam, India and peace.

His life mission is to open people’s hearts and minds towards fellow beings by mitigating conflicts and nurturing goodwill. He is a peace maker and an educator with two Master degrees and working on his doctorate in Psychology. He has two books on the horizon ; Basic Islam- everything you want to know about Islam and Pluralism, a text book on Pluralism 101.

Mission

My civic Mission is to influence the policy makers of our country, to put our nation on the path of fairness, justice and equity in dealing with our domestic and foreign affairs. "Just" dealings have the power to take us, and the World into the next century with relative peace and prosperity.